This the NFL, thats 32 teams, you should be able to support your team at any venue without worrieing about living to tell about it. Ribbing and sarcasm is fine, making it a personal issue is not. I have been to playoff games in the Kingdome, Monday Night Games against the Raiders and never seen this type of behavior, been a long time since I was at an actual regular season game. In those days it was about the game and experience and having fun. Opposing fans made it that much more enjoyable when it was competitive ribbing.

Being able to wear opposing colors and supporting the team you choose is not an invitation to be beat up, cornered, have shit thrown at you.

Where if that group of 36 was all together and the 49ers jerseys in mass may appear as a great heckle target, kids and descretion should be thought of as if your kids were there.

Now saying that and since there was not itr sounds more and more like young punks in a group feeling like they were all that and didn't have kids to think about what they were actually doing.

To Be P/C or Not P/C That is the Question..........Seahawks kick Ass !!!! Check your PM's, Thank you for everything Radish RIP My Friend. Member of the 38 club.

JSeahawks wrote:Not that it excuses any behavior but these kids were 14. When I was 14 I would have loved to have guys cuss at me and insult my team. I would have smiled, laughed and loved every minute.

Well in these days of coddleing and your special type parenting many are sheltered from the actual world by their parents. It's a shock to see what reality is and it's ugly side.

To Be P/C or Not P/C That is the Question..........Seahawks kick Ass !!!! Check your PM's, Thank you for everything Radish RIP My Friend. Member of the 38 club.

pinksheets wrote:There's always going to be a few bad apples that really cross the line, that's unfortunate.

I do want opposing fans to feel unwelcome in our house, though. I don't want them there.

The above says it all IMHO. A few forty whiner fans crying, at least no one got stabbed unlike candledump. To the story, meh whatever! Odds are its full of exaggerating and half truths, and I hardly doubt they are the innocent victims they claim to be. If you are wearing enemy colors into an opposing stadium and don't expect to get harassed a little then you are naive. More than likely a few butthurt whiner fans still bitter over their team being completely dominated and embarrassed on national tv.

pinksheets wrote:There's always going to be a few bad apples that really cross the line, that's unfortunate.

I do want opposing fans to feel unwelcome in our house, though. I don't want them there.

The above says it all IMHO. A few forty whiner fans crying, at least no one got stabbed unlike candledump. To the story, meh whatever! Odds are its full of exaggerating and half truths, and I hardly doubt they are the innocent victims they claim to be. If you are wearing enemy colors into an opposing stadium and don't expect to get harassed a little then you are naive. More than likely a few butthurt whiner fans still bitter over their team being completely dominated and embarrassed on national tv.

"enemy" colors... because THIS IS WAR!!!

ffs... whats naive is that a bunch of idiots think that when they're at a sporting event (an entertainment venue by the way) that they are somehow inclined to act like idiots.

Regardless of whether this story is true or not, it happens. Regardless of whether someone was stabbed or not, the idea that we need to "protect this house" and make the opposing fans feel uncomfortable through verbal abuse reeks of immaturity.

Seahawk fans, if you value the 12th man and the gameday experience, understand that this behavior was an extensive part of the fan experience in the English Premier League... now the opposing teams fans get cordoned off sections with police escorts, tickets are priced out of average fans monetary means, roudy fans lose their season tickets... forever, alcohol is often banned.

As the OP said, clean it up. be loud. have fun (its a party after all) but lose the mentality that you are somehow involved in the physical battle between the two teams. Crowd noise impacted the game. acting like bullies to 14 year old kids didnt. its not your inherent right to intimidate other human beings because they were "naive" enough to support their team by wearing a uniform to a game. ridiculous

Harbaugh is a lunatic and he'll either die on the sideline while trying to challenge the coin toss, or get into a filthy divorce from the 49ers that will end up with him getting $27 million a year from Michigan to fist fight the entire state of Ohio.

The whole "colors" thing just sounds so moronic. It's a gang war at a Seahawks game? A gang war where games cost too much for the average person to attend? You're talking hundreds of dollars after it's all said and done to get a decent seat, parking, some food, lodging, etc. etc. if you're coming from out of town, and yet people are acting like they are armed soldiers attending a by invitation only war on a Sunday afternoon in a billion dollar park. Give it a rest with the Under Armour commercial bullcrap. It's a game.

impacthawk wrote:As a life long Seahawks fan who went to his first home game....at the first home game in 1977, Things HAVE really changed. I was 11 years old during my first season with the Seahawks. My parents felt it was totally ok to buy our family season tickets and take me to every game, where their largest worry was strategic parking before the game. They had no worry that I would be exposed to rude fan behavior, or that some drunken fan would throw up on us. In fact, I can remember no specific incidents of bad fan behavior from Home fans or visiting fans. In fact, we had a KC Chiefs fan sit in front of us one game early on.....and 10 years later that same fan sat in the same seat and my dad greeted him like a lost friend and they bantered back and fourth the whole game....all in good fun. We were ALL fans of football. We held those seats until they brought the place down.

Since those days, our entire culture has changed..... This is not just a football fan issue. This is a larger issue. It has become ok to yell and ridicule people. It has become ok to be disrespectful to women. It has become totally ok to publicly shame another person. I see this behavior most often with the under 25 crowd. Trashing another person on facebook, or twitter or a message board is the new normal........My 18 year old daughter says its fun. Is anyone surprised this behavior then comes out in public, with total strangers....where it is easy to be anonymous hiding behind a fan jersey in a stadium full of 65,000 other people? Man, I don't. It's shameful really.

You can call me old, or stupid, or nostalgic or whatever the hell you want....but I think everyone should be able to experience being a fan. The game day experience is what made me into a lifelong Seahawks fan. I don't want parents to not want to take their kids to a game because they are worried. Now....with that said, I would not take an 11 year old to an away game. I expect a certain amount of ribbing, and a run in or two with a guy who has had too much. I can deal with this just fine....and have most recently at Mile High Stadium a couple of years ago.

It just comes down to treating people the way you would want to be treated. Unfortunately, that's a pretty low level for some.

"You can call me old, or stupid, or nostalgic or whatever ..." No, I call you wise and it's worth repeating. You hit it on the head --- it's the new culture of I can say and do whatever I want because I don't give a $hit about anyone else --- just like facebook, twitter etc.

This "defending our home turf" is BS -- let the guys on the field take care of business.

I love the whole "it's the younger generation" crap. Every older generation says the same thing about some younger generation, it's almost always entirely selective perception fueled BS. I've seen just as many, if not more, drunk and rowdy sports fans in their 40s and older than people between 18-25.

To be clear, I think the actions detailed in the article are largely despicable, but I also think that this lady's letter is exaggerated and not the whole story. She probably didn't have a good time going to watch her team get absolutely annihilated and is PO'd. I obviously wouldn't condone going up and hurling obscenities at a kid, but I also wouldn't dress my kid in opposing team gear and drag them to an NFL game. This isn't some passionless Mariners crowd, this is largely an adult event, not a Disneyfied family friendly experience. I wouldn't drag my kid to a heavy metal concert either, it's loud, rowdy, and an atmosphere that might not be particularly child friendly.

I don't think that opposing fans should expect to be able to walk in, not be acknowledged, and come into our house and hoot and holler for their team. Obviously, harassment and threats are over the line, but if your day is just absolutely ruined because someone told you your team sucks with a few F-bombs thrown in, you probably should have stayed at home. Opposing fans should have realistic expectations just as Hawks fans should respect that nobody should be physically threatened or personally attacked at the game. I don't see anything wrong with wanting opposing fans to feel unwelcome, as long as that desire doesn't extend into also wanting them to feel unsafe.

If everything this lady claimed is 100% accurate(which I doubt), there's a lot of unacceptable behavior that should result in people getting kicked out of the game. There's no denying the Seattle Times won't skip a chance to remind everyone how high brow and above everything they are by denigrating sports and sports fans, though.

This type of bullshiet comes up every year from some whiney fan who's team lost at The Clink...but; Seattle is still in the US of A and ANYONE who can get a ticket has the right to come into The Clink and enjoy the game without being harassed by a punch of punks. Yes, that's what they are, punks.

I will also say that in all the times I've been to Seahawks Stadium, I've never seen a physical assault or anything even close to that nature........of course, I'm usually with Riley12 and NO ONE in their right mind would mess with that gangsta!

If you're walking on thin ice, you might as well dance.................................................Mom

I, personally, don't question the stories validity. I went to the Monday night Seahwaks vs. Packers MNF game and this SNF Seahawks vs. 49ers game. I myself was a little appalled at the behavior of some hawks fans. i seen fights break out during both the games. I love my seahawks and love to see the niners get smashed by us on primetime however it is not the stage to pick fights and degrade the innocent during gameday.

I was sitting in the hawks nest during gameday and there was pretty much just one niners fan around us totally unprepared for the games conditions. Every one around us heckled him but he was literally freezing cold in just a thermal, niners jersey, and niners pajama pants. My wife actually offered him a rain poncho that we had extra and some "hott hands". She even got yelled at by a fan behind us for offering such a thing. After I gave him a piece of my mind things got settled but I was seriously disappointed with some of the 12th mans behaviors during the game. However, it will never overshadow how great of a game it was to be at, and how much I love to see Jim Douchebah and the whiners get stomped on by the Hawks.

LymonHawk wrote:This type of bullshiet comes up every year from some whiney fan who's team lost at The Clink...but; Seattle is still in the US of A and ANYONE who can get a ticket has the right to come into The Clink and enjoy the game without being harassed by a punch of punks. Yes, that's what they are, punks.

I will also say that in all the times I've been to Seahawks Stadium, I've never seen a physical assault or anything even close to that nature........of course, I'm usually with Riley12 and NO ONE in their right mind would mess with that gangsta!

And THIS is telling, cuz Lymin considers glitter a physical assault.

"Some people here have been groomed to accept mediocrity and lame ducks, I'm on board with the vibrato!" -SouthSoundHawk "BFS is kicking ass in here." -kearly (8/9/2013)

LymonHawk wrote:This type of bullshiet comes up every year from some whiney fan who's team lost at The Clink...but; Seattle is still in the US of A and ANYONE who can get a ticket has the right to come into The Clink and enjoy the game without being harassed by a punch of punks. Yes, that's what they are, punks.

I will also say that in all the times I've been to Seahawks Stadium, I've never seen a physical assault or anything even close to that nature........of course, I'm usually with Riley12 and NO ONE in their right mind would mess with that gangsta!

I've seen a fair share of violence at Seahawks games over the years. At the Raiders home game in 99 a brawl spread over an entire section. I used to sit up in the Hawks Nest and saw things like this on a weekly basis. Most of the time it was one drunk idiot screaming at another drunk idiot. That said, I haven't seen any fights over the last couple of years, but it seems to me the crowd has become a little more intense and alcohol fueled than when we were mediocre and no one cared (1992-2002). I think its a newer type of fan that pulls this.

Its never ok to get in a kids face and scream profanities at them and I have literally never seen this happen at a Seahawks game. However, if it did happen, thats unfortunate.

I think the writer of the letter might be blowing things out of proportion, and if the Niners had won, I'm willing to bet her feelings would be different. And honestly, 36 people in a crew and your horrified that your getting crap? However, kids should be off limits and I've never got all the macho bs and fighting that occurs at a sporting event. Its like "I'm tougher than you because the team I support is beating you"?? Really??

I flip opposing fans a decent amount of crap if they want to dish some out. Most of the time, I question the depth of their fandom, flipping them off and telling them to F themselves just doesn't do it for me. But challenging their knowledge of their teams history and calling them front runners is always fun.

People always blame alcohol, but, in my extensive experience with the substance in question, I've learned that the people that act like dicks when they are drunk, act like dicks when they are sober. I went to hawks games and was a dick before I even could legally drink, why? Because I was a dick. Alcohol amplifies whats already there, that's it.

Anyone who is a fan of the Seahawks usually has my respect, but in this case I wouldn't mind seeing those assholes getting their ass kicked even if it means they stop being seahawks fans. They are most likely band wagon fans who were no where to be seen before the Hawks were this good again.

I had season tickets for 7 years, saw a lot of ass hats start fights and just act disorderly, but usually opposing fans didn't get into trouble with locals unless they were a little overboard or couldn't take what they dished out. I also saw the general profanity and drunken morons increase every year. It wasn't every fan like the article kind of implies, but there were lots, sometimes we sat in sections with families and stood cheering the hawks with no profanity. Sometimes we sat in sections with a bunch of drunks that didn't care about the game and started fights. As a local I think we see more opposing fans in fights and being asses because there's one in each altercation and so few out of the masses of people it seems to be a lot more. The behavior in the article was one of the reasons I let my tickets go, I just don't dig having beer spilled on me and garlic fries all over my hawks gear. Still attend a few a year to get my fix, but I remember having Raiders fans try to tell me to sit down in our stadium and then ask if I want to walk outside and get my ass kicked.

Dyelon42 wrote:I, personally, don't question the stories validity. I went to the Monday night Seahwaks vs. Packers MNF game and this SNF Seahawks vs. 49ers game. I myself was a little appalled at the behavior of some hawks fans. i seen fights break out during both the games. I love my seahawks and love to see the niners get smashed by us on primetime however it is not the stage to pick fights and degrade the innocent during gameday.

I was sitting in the hawks nest during gameday and there was pretty much just one niners fan around us totally unprepared for the games conditions. Every one around us heckled him but he was literally freezing cold in just a thermal, niners jersey, and niners pajama pants. My wife actually offered him a rain poncho that we had extra and some "hott hands". She even got yelled at by a fan behind us for offering such a thing. After I gave him a piece of my mind things got settled but I was seriously disappointed with some of the 12th mans behaviors during the game. However, it will never overshadow how great of a game it was to be at, and how much I love to see Jim Douchebah and the whiners get stomped on by the Hawks.

Now that last part is just plain stupid. It's called "The Hawk's Nest" for a reason. I would never go into an opponents stadium and sit in a section pretty much designated for the home crowd. That's just ridiculous. And its the middle of Dec in Seattle and this dummy isn't bundled up? And he's by himself? Cmon, let's be real now. That guy should've done more research.

I have traveled to see the Seahawks play in New Orleans, Miami, Philly, Denver(x3), KC(x3), Buffalo, Pittsburg, Denver, Toronto, San Francisco, Minnesota, and Green Bay. I think that is all.

I know I am not the most traveled Hawks fan but I have been around some. I don't start shit on the road. In fact, I rarely cheer my team's successes to excess. And, ftr, I am much bigger and tougher than Jonrud or Hemi.

All that said. I can assure you that in every stadium there are assholes who go to the games looking for someone to demean and threaten and challenge and cause suffering to.

I don't care whether I am in Denver or Seattle or KC. And i dont care what color the jerseys are. I know whose side I am on when I see a predator in action.

"Some people here have been groomed to accept mediocrity and lame ducks, I'm on board with the vibrato!" -SouthSoundHawk "BFS is kicking ass in here." -kearly (8/9/2013)

bestfightstory wrote:I have traveled to see the Seahawks play in New Orleans, Miami, Philly, Denver(x3), KC(x3), Buffalo, Pittsburg, Denver, Toronto, San Francisco, Minnesota, and Green Bay. I think that is all.

I know I am not the most traveled Hawks fan but I have been around some. I don't start shit on the road. In fact, I rarely cheer my team's successes to excess. And, ftr, I am much bigger and tougher than Jonrud or Hemi.

All that said. I can assure you that in every stadium there are assholes who go to the games looking for someone to demean and threaten and challenge and cause suffering to.

I don't care whether I am in Denver or Seattle or KC. And i dont care what color the jerseys are. I know whose side I am on when I see a predator in action.

Leif I rarely argue with you now a days but I have to say Hemifed looks pretty damned capable to me. lol

bestfightstory wrote:I have traveled to see the Seahawks play in New Orleans, Miami, Philly, Denver(x3), KC(x3), Buffalo, Pittsburg, Denver, Toronto, San Francisco, Minnesota, and Green Bay. I think that is all.

I know I am not the most traveled Hawks fan but I have been around some. I don't start shit on the road. In fact, I rarely cheer my team's successes to excess. And, ftr, I am much bigger and tougher than Jonrud or Hemi.

All that said. I can assure you that in every stadium there are assholes who go to the games looking for someone to demean and threaten and challenge and cause suffering to.

I don't care whether I am in Denver or Seattle or KC. And i dont care what color the jerseys are. I know whose side I am on when I see a predator in action.

Leif I rarely argue with you now a days but I have to say Hemifed looks pretty damned capable to me. lol

bestfightstory wrote:I have traveled to see the Seahawks play in New Orleans, Miami, Philly, Denver(x3), KC(x3), Buffalo, Pittsburg, Denver, Toronto, San Francisco, Minnesota, and Green Bay. I think that is all.

I know I am not the most traveled Hawks fan but I have been around some. I don't start shit on the road. In fact, I rarely cheer my team's successes to excess. And, ftr, I am much bigger and tougher than Jonrud or Hemi.

All that said. I can assure you that in every stadium there are assholes who go to the games looking for someone to demean and threaten and challenge and cause suffering to.

I don't care whether I am in Denver or Seattle or KC. And i dont care what color the jerseys are. I know whose side I am on when I see a predator in action.

Leif I rarely argue with you now a days but I have to say Hemifed looks pretty damned capable to me. lol

Hemi would beat Leif down and not break a sweat. Sorry big beard.

I knew your ass would sniff this post out. Bull Roar. Hemi is a big cornfed farmer with no streetcred. He could take me in a wheelbarrow race but let us throw down and it's over. No contest. It's been quite awhile, but I'm a destroyer. Hemi is a gentle giant. And an oaf.

"Some people here have been groomed to accept mediocrity and lame ducks, I'm on board with the vibrato!" -SouthSoundHawk "BFS is kicking ass in here." -kearly (8/9/2013)

The Radish wrote:[quote="bestfightstory"]I have traveled to see the Seahawks play in New Orleans, Miami, Philly, Denver(x3), KC(x3), Buffalo, Pittsburg, Denver, Toronto, San Francisco, Minnesota, and Green Bay. I think that is all.

I know I am not the most traveled Hawks fan but I have been around some. I don't start shit on the road. In fact, I rarely cheer my team's successes to excess. And, ftr, I am much bigger and tougher than Jonrud or Hemi.

All that said. I can assure you that in every stadium there are assholes who go to the games looking for someone to demean and threaten and challenge and cause suffering to.

I don't care whether I am in Denver or Seattle or KC. And i dont care what color the jerseys are. I know whose side I am on when I see a predator in action.

Leif I rarely argue with you now a days but I have to say Hemifed looks pretty damned capable to me. lol

Hemi would beat Leif down and not break a sweat. Sorry big beard.

I knew your ass would sniff this post out. Bull Roar. Hemi is a big cornfed farmer with no streetcred. He could take me in a wheelbarrow race but let us throw down and it's over. No contest. It's been quite awhile, but I'm a destroyer. Hemi is a gentle giant. And an oaf.[/quote]

Ya know I never thought of it like that. You might be correct, especially after seeing what you did to Patrick Swayze.

bestfightstory wrote:Get real. I coud take Hemifed straight up-with Jordan and his twin Bob Newhart clinging to my ankles. All the while mocking Patrick Swayze and carrying TorontoMarkyMark on my back.

That's right!

Now that's where I got screwed up. I thought you said you were carrying TorontoMarkyMark on your face.

seahawk2k wrote:I've seen a fair share of violence at Seahawks games over the years. At the Raiders home game in 99 a brawl spread over an entire section. I used to sit up in the Hawks Nest and saw things like this on a weekly basis. Most of the time it was one drunk idiot screaming at another drunk idiot. That said, I haven't seen any fights over the last couple of years, but it seems to me the crowd has become a little more intense and alcohol fueled than when we were mediocre and no one cared (1992-2002). I think its a newer type of fan that pulls this.

Its never ok to get in a kids face and scream profanities at them and I have literally never seen this happen at a Seahawks game. However, if it did happen, thats unfortunate.

I think the writer of the letter might be blowing things out of proportion, and if the Niners had won, I'm willing to bet her feelings would be different. And honestly, 36 people in a crew and your horrified that your getting crap? However, kids should be off limits and I've never got all the macho bs and fighting that occurs at a sporting event. Its like "I'm tougher than you because the team I support is beating you"?? Really??

I flip opposing fans a decent amount of crap if they want to dish some out. Most of the time, I question the depth of their fandom, flipping them off and telling them to F themselves just doesn't do it for me. But challenging their knowledge of their teams history and calling them front runners is always fun.

People always blame alcohol, but, in my extensive experience with the substance in question, I've learned that the people that act like dicks when they are drunk, act like dicks when they are sober. I went to hawks games and was a dick before I even could legally drink, why? Because I was a dick. Alcohol amplifies whats already there, that's it.

The fight you're speaking of in 99 went right into us, and I had to protect my mother for her life. No lie. I was much bigger and stronger then. Now.... I'd probably have a heart attack and die if I saw something like that happen. I was 26 then and in my prime, but still scared to death, because it was literally the whole section moving like a wave up toward us and then engulfing us. It was horrible.

I also saw two full on multi-person fistfights on the concourse with Seahawks fans on Seahawks fans, King County and Seattle City police walking right by like they didn't see anything, and Gary Payton getting lost trying to find his luxury box and repeatedly circling the 100 level concourse with about 20 other guys hooting and hollering. It was cool to see him, but the rest of what I saw was disgusting and I was humiliated.

seahawk2k wrote:I've seen a fair share of violence at Seahawks games over the years. At the Raiders home game in 99 a brawl spread over an entire section. I used to sit up in the Hawks Nest and saw things like this on a weekly basis. Most of the time it was one drunk idiot screaming at another drunk idiot. That said, I haven't seen any fights over the last couple of years, but it seems to me the crowd has become a little more intense and alcohol fueled than when we were mediocre and no one cared (1992-2002). I think its a newer type of fan that pulls this.

Its never ok to get in a kids face and scream profanities at them and I have literally never seen this happen at a Seahawks game. However, if it did happen, thats unfortunate.

I think the writer of the letter might be blowing things out of proportion, and if the Niners had won, I'm willing to bet her feelings would be different. And honestly, 36 people in a crew and your horrified that your getting crap? However, kids should be off limits and I've never got all the macho bs and fighting that occurs at a sporting event. Its like "I'm tougher than you because the team I support is beating you"?? Really??

I flip opposing fans a decent amount of crap if they want to dish some out. Most of the time, I question the depth of their fandom, flipping them off and telling them to F themselves just doesn't do it for me. But challenging their knowledge of their teams history and calling them front runners is always fun.

People always blame alcohol, but, in my extensive experience with the substance in question, I've learned that the people that act like dicks when they are drunk, act like dicks when they are sober. I went to hawks games and was a dick before I even could legally drink, why? Because I was a dick. Alcohol amplifies whats already there, that's it.

The fight you're speaking of in 99 went right into us, and I had to protect my mother for her life. No lie. I was much bigger and stronger then. Now.... I'd probably have a heart attack and die if I saw something like that happen. I was 26 then and in my prime, but still scared to death, because it was literally the whole section moving like a wave up toward us and then engulfing us. It was horrible.

I also saw two full on multi-person fistfights on the concourse with Seahawks fans on Seahawks fans, King County and Seattle City police walking right by like they didn't see anything, and Gary Payton getting lost trying to find his luxury box and repeatedly circling the 100 level concourse with about 20 other guys hooting and hollering. It was cool to see him, but the rest of what I saw was disgusting and I was humiliated.

I was in the section over, I was 14, and terrified that it was going to spill over. Saw fights in the Hawks Nest like that, including one where the were trying to arrest a guy and tazed him and he was still fighting them as he tumbled down ten rows of seats.

Sorry you had to see that man. It was messed up. I've tried to describe it to people before, and they think I'm making it up or I somehow misremembered how it happened. It was absolutely insane. The only thing that would be close in my life at a sporting event was when Miami came to BYU at #1 and BYU beat them. We rushed the field. I was about 17 or so and my brother was I think 12 or 13. He was getting crushed by these waves of people on the field and I just started swinging. I landed punches on about 6-8 people as he was going to the ground under the wave and I was able to pick him up and put him on my shoulders as a circle cleared around him and I was able to lift him out. It was insane. Our fault for going on the field, but people see a little kid getting crushed and just keep moving. Nobody stops. I'd been at an AC/DC concert around the same time and saw a couple of people get crunched to death against a barrier at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. I just kept having that vision going through my head. Yuck. Instinct takes over.

I think instinct is much different than just being an ass. I guess that's why I just don't attend games anymore. I don't want to be in any more situations where I feel like I have to save somebody's life. It has happened twice at football games and once at a soccer game. That's enough for me.

In the end, it is a sport. I will never understand going crazy against anyone over any of the sports I love. Sure, it is all fun and games to trash talk with your friends at work, school, at the games but to take it beyond that is dumb.

I actually like what they do at overseas soccer matches. There are specific away sections at the stadiums to lower the chance of dumb things like this. It is actually cool as if you enjoy traveling to see your team than you can be among your fellow supporters trying to cheer your team in enemy territory.

I was running some errands today. I was wearing my old-school Seahawks jacket. I was perusing the local Goodwill for deals when another shopper spoke to me out of the blue. It took me a second to realize it, but this kid (about 13 or 14) said to me, "Go Niners!" After a second, I recognized that he was responding to my 'Hawks gear and I laughed.

Then I said, "Not last week, they didn't," and kept walking. He said something about liking the Patriots. I said over my shoulder, "Yeah. They're a good team," and walked away. The kid was weird. He might have been autistic for all I know. Doesn't matter to me what his deal was. I went about my business.

That's how I think MOST Seahawks fans would handle that. SOME a-holes are not as level-headed. Some people get drunk and use it as an excuse to act beastly. Assaulting children? Deplorable. Blame booze? Grow up. I've been drunk about a bazillion times and I have not assaulted anyone, ever. Not one person. Know why? 'Cause I'm a peaceful m'er-f'er.

My question regarding this Times thing is, why believe any of it? Even if this email is from a real person, why should I be expected to believe it? It is an uncorroborated account.

I could write an email to any newspaper anywhere, right now, claiming anything. So could you. There's no substantiated evidence to back up this email. When I studied journalism in the early '90s, that would never fly. We were not allowed to print anything unless it was supported by independent sources ON RECORD. Nowadays, printing 'emails' like this are nothing more than easily obscured editorial opinion. For all we know an angry 9ers fan made that up, or a newbie reporter doctored it to get something printed. I am not saying the events did not - or did - happen, but I refuse to believe ANYTHING I read that is not corroborated by other independent witnesses.

I am NOT in support of verbally assaulting children. I encourage any Seahawks fan witnessing the type of behavior outlined in this email to step up and discourage it. Profane, angry, and violent behavior is completely unnecessary. If I see it, I will speak out against it. But I will not buy into unsubstantiated claims that the 12th Man as a whole, or alcohol as a whole, is evil, bad, or wrong.

On the flip side, I just read this at the Seahawks group on facebook. It shows that not all people are obviously bad.

**Friendly Fire For A Lazy Saturday**

A Heartwarming Story about the 12th Man..(In case you read all about it in the Times!)

After reading the story about the San Fran Lady who was "mistreated" by Seahawks fans at the 9er game, I thought about how great of an experience I had when I took 3 of my 4 kids (left the 2 year old home, for obvious reason), my wife and I, and 14 other members of our Church (including the Pastor, a huge Vikings fan raised in Iowa) to the Vikings game.

We arrived early, and enjoyed the Fan zone, Blue Thunder, and all of the great events offered before the game. My oldest son, 13, got hurt, so my wife took him to a 1st aid station, where he was well taken care of.

My 12 year old daughter and 6 year old son and I decided to walk around outside the stadium and check out Blue Thunder's outside show. As we were walking towards the gate, a woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked "Sir, is this your little boy?", I thought I was holding his hand, but it was my daughter's (Bad Dad, I was paying too much attention to the great things around me), and I thought that they had found my son wandering around.

That was not the case, as he was right next to me. I told her that it was, and she then introduced me to her husband, and her son, who was about 9. She explained that they only made it over for 1 game a year, and that her son had just bought a Brand new Seahawks coat. She reached into her bag, and asked if I minded if they gave his old one (only worn 3 times) to my son, and to see if it fit. Of course it fit, with at least another year of growth to enjoy for next year. They gave us a hug, and walked off. That same coat was 120 dollars at the Pro Shop, and I could not have afforded that.

My son will never forget that day.

His first Seahawks Game of his life.

We went to Training Camp last summer and got a bunch of autographs, including his Richard Sherman jersey, that Richard pulled him over the barrier to sign.

And here were some awesome Hawks fans to go above and beyond to make it a great experience.

I'm with you Shark. This kind of thing should have zero tolerance and should be taken seriously, but as this thread illustrates, that is far from the case. I haven't been going to games as long as you have, but I would agree that it feels like it is getting worse over time. It's possible that woman was exaggerating in her story (women tend to exaggerate when it comes to fear/anxiety), but if it's even close to accurate, it sounds like we might not be far off from having acts of violence at our games just like they already have in LA and SF.

Based on my own experience at our home games, I find her story to be totally believable. It's basically like the world's rowdiest bar minus the bouncer, and that brings out a very ugly side to a surprisingly high number of people. Zowert's estimate sounded about right to me.

I've been a season ticket holder for years and have never witnessed fans threatening kids or women. That is ridiculous.

And for the last few years, security has actually become a little too strict. I've seen people kicked out for just partying too hard. Saw one guy get kicked out for standing in the aisle with a beer. Security told him not to stand in the aisle, he kept forgetting, getting too excited and kept moving into the aisle, so they kicked him out.

Anyone who actually goes to the game is familiar with the very strict security at the Clink. There is zero chance that woman's story is true as she tells it.

For what it's worth, the main reason I became a Seahawks fan was the atmosphere at Century Link. Always a NFL fan but never had a reason to follow a specific team (just how I feel about college football now). Went to a game against Green Bay... saw Seahawks and Packers fans sat together having some banter and never overstepping the mark. Had the 12th man flag... the noise. Some random dude gave me a high five on his way out of the stadium at the end. I just thought... this is the team for me. Been obsessed ever since. Amazing fans, amazing team.

1. No, we're not better than this. Is there some kind of magical barrier around Seattle that transforms the average NFL fan into paragons of chivalry? Hell no, there isn't. Every single fanbase has its share of drunken belligerents who act the fool. Ours is no different, nor should we expect it to be. Don't be that naive.

2. No, opposing fans shouldn't feel like they have to hide their allegiance by not wearing their team's jerseys or colors when visiting Seattle. They paid for a ticket, same as everyone else at that stadium, and deserve to wear whatever they like to support their team.

3. That said, I agree with the folks who note that how you respond to heckling determines how your day's going to go. My most recent Seahawks game was when they came to visit the Broncos in 2010, and I got a little good natured ribbing from some Broncos fans (I was in one of the end zones). I got yelled at a couple of times and shrugged it off, chuckling. I don't understand the mentality it takes for someone to get up in another fan's face and scream trash, but I also don't get the mentality it takes to respond to that in kind with "shut up!" or anything like that. If the first story in the original post is true, then I have to say that the woman who wrote it is partially to blame for being completely unprepared for dealing with conflict and also for rising to the provocation when it occurred.

pinksheets wrote:There's always going to be a few bad apples that really cross the line, that's unfortunate.

I do want opposing fans to feel unwelcome in our house, though. I don't want them there.

The above says it all IMHO. A few forty whiner fans crying, at least no one got stabbed unlike candledump. To the story, meh whatever! Odds are its full of exaggerating and half truths, and I hardly doubt they are the innocent victims they claim to be. If you are wearing enemy colors into an opposing stadium and don't expect to get harassed a little then you are naive. More than likely a few butthurt whiner fans still bitter over their team being completely dominated and embarrassed on national tv.

"enemy" colors... because THIS IS WAR!!!

ffs... whats naive is that a bunch of idiots think that when they're at a sporting event (an entertainment venue by the way) that they are somehow inclined to act like idiots.

Regardless of whether this story is true or not, it happens. Regardless of whether someone was stabbed or not, the idea that we need to "protect this house" and make the opposing fans feel uncomfortable through verbal abuse reeks of immaturity.

Seahawk fans, if you value the 12th man and the gameday experience, understand that this behavior was an extensive part of the fan experience in the English Premier League... now the opposing teams fans get cordoned off sections with police escorts, tickets are priced out of average fans monetary means, roudy fans lose their season tickets... forever, alcohol is often banned.

As the OP said, clean it up. be loud. have fun (its a party after all) but lose the mentality that you are somehow involved in the physical battle between the two teams. Crowd noise impacted the game. acting like bullies to 14 year old kids didnt. its not your inherent right to intimidate other human beings because they were "naive" enough to support their team by wearing a uniform to a game. ridiculous

Are you really that thick? Way to play he "superfan card". I am not condoning that behavior. But, If I went to candlestick park wearing my seahawks jersey when the 69ers are playing the hawks for me not to expect to take a rash of verbal insults, then yes I'd be guilty of being naive.

My BS detector was going off like crazy during this article, apparently you believe every lie and exaggeration in it. Do you actually believe this large group of niner fans did absolutely nothing when all of this allegedly happened?????

Do we have idiot fans? He'll yes we do, we have plenty, as does every fanbase. That sucks but it's a fact of life.

I've seen fan idiocy at Hawks games and have told those to knock it off that went over the top to opposing fans, especially ones that were not starting crap. From my experience its usually the opposing fans with "little man syndrome" talking crap and picking fights.

Bottom line is you have a few niner fans exaggerating and are feeling a little butthurt because their team that they thought was invincible got "lit up" and embarrassed on national tv.